Welcome Home
by Schnebz
Summary: "From now on this will be a home for anyone who needs one" he felt his voice falter "and we must prepare it as such for God knows what times we face."   AU, set after XMFC. Edited chapter 1 & new Chapter 2: Alex/Erik interaction
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: After weeks of reading amazing fanfictions out here, I decided to hop on the fanfiction writing train as well. I haven't written stories in a long time so please bear with me.

I decided to merge the first two chapters into one, it makes for a better flow in the story (for now)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the amazing X-men universe...it's just my interpretation on what happened in the movie with an AU twist to it

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><p><em>Often described as the opposite of déjà vu, jamais vu involves a sense of eeriness and the observer's impression of seeing the situation for the first time, despite rationally knowing that he or she has been in the situation before.<em>

Jamais Vu, that is how psychology described the scene that was unfolding itself before Charles Xavier's eyes. A group of mutants staring at a large mansion, his mansion, almost the same way as they had a couple of months ago. They had been here before, the same group, at the same mansion..heck, they were even standing on the same spot as the last time. Yet so much had changed. Wariness had replaced the anticipation of saving the world and hopes and dreams had turned into disappointment and anger. Strong bonds of friendship had been cut into thin threads but were, thank God, not completely severed. The children had lost their innocence, just as he had.

He looked at the rest of their group. At Alex, who had his arms crossed before his chest, his tensed muscles betraying his nervousness of what was to come. His blue eyes flickered from one to the other, waiting for someone to speak.

Charles looked at Raven who was watching him expectantly. Her yellow eyes were shimmering with tears. She looked so lost, very much like the first time he encountered her in his kitchen trying to steal food.

His eyes drifted over to Erik who stood slightly apart from everyone else. His grey eyes were hard as stone and a grim smile was etched in his face. Much had been said and even more had been done. Their different views had almost torn them apart in their confrontation on the Cuban beach. Charles foresaw a continuous struggle between them to find a common middle ground, yet he wouldn't want it to be any different. Their eyes met and Erik gave him a short nod to continue. Whatever had to be said to one and another could wait till a later moment in time.

Charles' gaze moved to the giant satellite dish and he sighed inwardly at the thought of the long road ahead of them. There was so much to think about, so much to plan and still so much to learn.  
>A sharp intake of breath got him out of his reverie and made him turn his attention to Hank who was supporting an unusual pale Sean. His demeanour had changed from the confident Beast in battle to the shy scientist of before, another issue that had to be taken care of in due time.<p>

The telepath saw Sean grimace in pain. The teenager had bruised several ribs during his 'ungraceful landing' on the beach. Charles' lips formed into a faintest of smiles when he noticed himself quoting the boy.

"So, I guess it's back to being yours again then" Said young mutant broke the silence they had been standing in.

"No, it's still ours" Charles replied and pulled Raven closer. Her blue scales felt a tad foreign against his hands but that didn't stop him from pressing a comforting kiss on her red hair "From now on this will be a home for anyone who needs one" he felt his voice falter "and we must prepare it as such for God knows what times we face."

Suddenly Charles grinned widely at the anticipation of a new project and pulled Raven towards the front door. He searched his pockets for the key and opened it with a forceful push.

"Welcome home"

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><p>Later that night when all was dark and quiet, a soft flicker of light shone into the abandoned hallway from underneath a door. Everyone was asleep, except for the two men inside that were sitting opposite each other, the air filled with contemplation and unspoken words. A chess board was placed on the table between them but neither paid much attention to the game. They were studying each other. Not in the familiar way of trying to figure out the other's next move, but gauging on what the other would say. Bright blue eyes invited hard grey eyes to speak but the grey eyes waited knowingly until the other would speak, knowing that the person could not hold his silence for long. There wasn't much noise, the only sounds came from chess pieces being moved on the board and the fabric of the men's clothes against the leather chairs as either of them shifted in position.<p>

"Check" A single word broke the silence and a sharp smile joined the grey eyes in the same face "Where is your head tonight, Charles?"

"Chess" was the short answer of the blue eyed man as he moved his king to safety "a wonderful game."

Erik leant back in his chair and raised an inquiring eyebrow. Charles never stated the obvious without apparent reason.

"Someone once said that chess is life and that every game is a new one" Charles continued, their game momentarily forgotten as he too settled back in his chair "Every player gets to live many lives in their lifetime."

"Life is nothing more than a simultaneous chess exhibition played against the grandmaster called Fate" Erik replied evenly "A grandmaster that does not deal out equal blows to all contestants."

They resumed their game for a little while before Charles, never good at keeping silent when something had to be said, spoke up again "What will your next game be?"

Erik looked up "The one after this most likely" he said after a short pause "if not, the one we'll be playing tomorrow." His tone was teasing and a fond gleam reached his eyes when he saw a hint of annoyance flicker over the telepath's face.

"My friend, you know you finished your last game in a submarine on a Cuban beach." Charles leant forward, resting his arms on his legs. He looked at the man in front of him, a man who he, despite everything, still called his friend. The man who had driven a coin through his head and who had stopped missiles in mid-air. The friend he had tackled into the sand, trying to knock some sense into him because beneath all the hatred, there was still a gleam of goodness. The friend that had knocked him out instead because in that moment the hatred had won. "Will you play the next game with or without us?"

Tension now hung in the room and Charles sat back again as if Erik's unseeing eyes pushed him backwards. He knew that look, the look where his friend was trapped in his past. Even though Erik had defeated his worst demon, there were still so many wounds that needed to heal. Charles felt the inner struggle ruled by a deep hatred of humans that were once again threatening his people. But below that hatred, he could also feel fierce determination to protect their kind. And plans, there were plans on how to proceed. Half finished at best, but nonetheless plans. Some of them included Charles and the others but many more did not and it hurt him deeply.

"A game of chess does not compare to a real war" Erik spoke slowly and focused his eyes on Charles' again "After each side put up their pieces and made their opening move, there will be victims. The first to go will be the pawns because they are helpless; the children and the old. Then the other pieces..the knights, bishops and rooks. Their survival depends on their skills and organisation. They might put up a fight, but they won't last against a real government crackdown. After that, they will go after the kings and queens; for Raven, the boys and us" Erik paused and folded his hands "It will all be real, Charles. Every piece you fail to save on the board will be a dead mutant. Words won't stop them, they know what we are capable of. A peaceful approach will not work.."

A heavy silence struck the room as Charles was contemplating Erik's words. The metalbender could see him think, see him try to digest the bitter words he had just heard. They clashed with everything the other man believed in.

"We must fight fire with fire, there is no other way" Erik stood up and looked down at Charles, his best friend, brother and only equal "The question is whether you are willing to play the game with me, or that you rather face this chess master from two separate boards." With only a few long strides Erik was at the door and turned around for a last time before exiting "Remember Charles, chess is a ruthless game in which people have to be killed and minds have to be crushed so that one side can win."

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><p><span>AN:<span> Thank you for reading this far. I would love to hear your opinions on this piece and receive some constructive criticism on how to improve! And I'm always open for ideas and suggestions of what to write about so let's get my inspiration flowing ^^

Have a wonderful weekend!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Wow, it has been a long time since my last post. Summer and work have been taking over, and this was a rather hard chapter to write. Thank you for all the story alerting, favouriting and messages! I hope you'll like this chapter so read and review :)

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><p><em>ap·a·thy:<em>_absence or suppression of __passion,__emotion,__ or __excitement._

It was one week after their return from Cuba and Alex Summers was bored out of his mind. The bleak autumn weather outside and the inactivity inside the mansion were getting on his nerves. Better said, his inactivity was getting on his nerves. It has been a weird week, even though the professor had said that this was 'home' now, it really didn't feel like it. Their training sessions, endless banter and random activities together had been replaced by everyone doing their own thing. Beast and the professor were somewhere down in the basement working on the design of an improved Cerebro with all kinds of high tech lingo that made Alex' head spin. Sean was mostly lying in his bed to nurse his bruised ribs and Alex had soon become tired of his endless complaining. He had hung out with Raven for a little while until her constant talking about colours, fabrics and patterns for the bedrooms she was trying to organise became too much to handle. And Erik was, based on the non-vibrating metal around the house, once again not present. He had been disappearing and reappearing with unpredictable intervals and Alex could have sworn to see him accompanied by Shaw's red skinned mutant. Something was going on, Alex knew it, yet nobody told him anything.

Alex sighed and exited his room, the short entertainment he had gotten from throwing a bounce ball around his room had not been enough to get his spirits up so he once again ventured on walking aimlessly around the mansion. He was still quite astounded with its size, but even discovering the newest weird piece of art wasn't even slightly impressing him anymore. There was nothing to do, absolutely nothing. The basement bunker was out of use due to Beast's experimenting and a run on the grounds was out of the question because of heavy rainfall. He couldn't even hone his Erik Evasion Skills because said person was away once again. It actually wasn't as hard as it sounded, he would just go wherever the metal was vibrating the least. The German had been in a foul mood since their return from Cuba. Alex didn't know in how far he should believe Erik's 'humankind has declared war on mutants' speech on the beach, but after seeing hundreds of missiles being launched at them, he tended to agree. But the professor's comment on how the people of the ships were just following orders made sense too. Not to Erik though because he had sent the missiles flying back at the ships. The next thing Alex remembered is that the professor and Erik were wrestling in the sand, the first being no match to the latter. From there it all became one fast blur. Missiles were flying, Erik knocking the professor out and making missiles explode somewhere between beach and ships. Then Azazel transported them back to somewhere and Erik arriving much later looking totally drained. From that somewhere they teleported to the mansion and well...boredom pretty much started.

Alex' stomach growled and he made his way to the kitchen. Dinner was probably going to be some sort of take-out because that's what food seemed to be about lately. The fridge was pretty much empty except for some yoghurt but that wasn't enough for him to live through the rest of the day. After rummaging around the cupboards, he found a half eaten bag of chips which he started to devour immediately. One of his foster mothers had once said that people tend to eat more when they're bored and he had to agree with her now.

"Eating that won't make your boredom go away."

Alex startled and scowled at the person in the doorway "No, but you and the professor telling what's going on and giving me something to do, would make it go away."

Erik's eyes flickered, yet his face revealed no emotions. "Come with me," he said and turned around without glancing back to see whether the teen was actually following him. It was not a question, and Alex hastily put down the bag of chips and jogged after Erik.

"Your power comes with a restless energy when it's not released properly," Erik spoke up after he stopped in front of one of the doors that led outside.

"And why exactly are you telling me something I already know?" Alex asked, not entirely successful in hiding his sarcasm.

"Because you and I are going for a little walk.." The older man said and gave Alex a forceful shove out into the pouring rain.

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><p>'<em>A little walk'<em> Alex scoffed inwardly as he was trying to keep up with Erik. His lungs were burning and his legs were heavy. The rain had soaked him to the bone and the slushy mud didn't make running any easier. It was hard to orientate himself and he wondered whether they were still on the mansion's grounds.

"Stop" he managed to get out and staggered to a halt. The rain had taken away all his perception of time and he had no idea how long they had been running already. "If this is your definition of a little walk, then I don't want to know what a long one is..."

Erik let out a throaty chuckle and clapped the teen on his back "Stand up straight and put your hands behind your head, it makes it easier to breathe...but keep walking."

Alex did as he was told and followed Erik, not quite comfortable to walk next to him yet. He had a healthy dose of respect for the man, Sean called it fear, but hell...he was Alex Summers and not afraid of anyone.

"Walk next to me or ahead of me. I don't like people sneaking around behind my back." It was spoken in Erik's gruff voice and Alex hastily did as he was told. Challenging a former Nazi-hunter wasn't a smart thing to do, especially when he had an air around him that told Alex that not many had survived their 'sneaking-around-behind-his-back'. And even though there wasn't any metal around, he didn't want to tempt fate to find just that one shovel left behind by a careless gardener. Being disembowelled on the spot by a rusty shovel was not the way he wanted to leave this earth.

The heavy rain slowly changed into a steady drizzle as silence hung between them. Erik was a man of few words and Alex had no idea on how to start a conversation with him.

"If you want any answers, then now would be a good time to start asking questions." Erik smirked as he saw the boy trip over his own two feet by the statement, and held his pace for a second to have him catch up.

"Ehh..." came the reply of Alex, his mind going completely blank. Sure, there were questions, enough of them but right now none came to mind. He blinked and felt Erik watch him an amused expression.

"Never show your confusion to your adversaries," Erik said matter-of-factly "nor any insecurities..you can get killed over it."

"I didn't know we were fighting someone or something," Alex scoffed, his tongue working on its own "It's not like you or the professor tell us anything."

Erik raised an eyebrow, inwardly almost regretting his half-promise to Charles to check up on the teen. The boy seemed fine; he wasn't bodily harmed and his brain was at least functioning partly. And there wasn't much to tell because neither he or Charles really had any idea on how to continue. He refrained from pinching his nose, after all, that would be displaying his impatience with the kid and wished that Charles would use his bloody telepathy to find out what was bothering the lad, but he followed his morals as if they were set in stone.

"What is going to happen next?" Alex asked him. The flicker of annoyance that had ghosted Erik's face didn't go by unnoticed by the teen. If this was the guy's talkative mood, he definitely needed to take advantage of it.

"Who knows," Erik replied "My mutation is the control of metal, not predicting the future."

"You're evading the question," Alex countered "I'm not a child anymore."

"You are asking the wrong kind of question." Erik pointed out and ignored Alex' muttering of what were no doubt profanities at his expense. Now was not the time to correct the boy's language, and besides, that was Charles' job anyway.

"Fine, what do _you_ think is going to happen?"

Erik was quiet for a few seconds as if he was contemplating which answer to give. "For now nothing. The government will leave us alone, give us a false sense of security. But one day they will come for our kind and our powers. They fear them but will want to know about them and how they can best use them. Mutants will be used as experiments and discarded like empty juice boxes once they're done with. And when that day comes, we'd better be ready for it..."

Alex glanced at Erik. The German had clenched his left fist and his eyes had gone dark. Judging by the pulling on his trouser button, Erik had disappeared to somewhere in his mind where even the professor wouldn't have been able to reach him. The mansion seemed very far away at this point. He cleared his throat "What does it mean for us?"

Erik's lips thinned as he slowly snapped back to reality. "We train so that we can defend ourselves and others" he said and vowed to whatever deity that was ruining this earth, that this time he and his kind would not go down without a fight. That this time when soldiers would knock down the door, he would not let them take Raven, Charles and the boys.

Alex nodded automatically, not knowing how to respond, and looked ahead of him. The rain had stopped a while ago and now he was getting cold...very very cold. He didn't know whether Erik had noticed, the guy seemed to be immune to rain and cold, but Alex was grateful that he started to jog once again. The jog soon turned into a sprint and before Alex knew it, they were running towards the mansion.

A smell of freshly baked something greeted them when they entered the house and the two of them stopped. Alex looked around confused, so far the only thing that had been baked in this place were Sean's special muffins and this didn't compare to that. Besides, he had taken Sean's stash of drugs away when they had gotten back a week ago because the ginger tended to do stupid stuff whenever he was high. Usually good fun, but the professor would have his head if it'd happen with Sean still injured. He turned to Erik but found the German already gone.  
>His curiosity was getting the better of him and followed the smell to the kitchen. Getting closer he was hearing Raven's laughter and just as he was about to turn the corner, he bumped into Charles who was carrying a fluffy towel.<p>

"What's that smell?" Alex asked after excusing himself "It smells good."

"That would be Raven's scones," The professor said with a smile and handed him a towel "which you will taste _after_ you have changed your attire, you are dripping all over the floor."

"Sorry professor," Alex said with an apologetic grin "I'll be right back, don't let the bozo and Sean eat it all before I get back." He took off, the towel half wrapped around his torso and head. As he passed the kitchen, he looked inside just on time to see Raven swat at Sean's hand with a wooden ladle but grinning widely as she did so. Back in his room Alex smiled at his dripping wet image in the mirror. Maybe things were getting back to normal after all.

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><p><strong><span>AN:<span>** Thank you for reading! I hope you find the time to review, all kinds of criticism and/or praise are welcome ^^ Enjoy the weekend!


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